I. THE SPECIES OF SALMON AND THE RUNS. 
The Pacific coast salmons are all included in the genus Oncorhyn- 
chus. With them the fishermen incorrectly class the steelhead trout, 
which really belongs to the closely related genus Salmo. 
As long ago as 1731 the species of Oncorhynchus were first made 
known by Steller, who, almost simultaneously with Krascheninikoy, 
another early investigator, distinguished them with perfect accuracy 
under their Russian vernacular names. In 1792 Walbaum adopted 
these vernacular names in a scientific nomenclature for these fishes. 
Five species of salmon (Oncorhynchus) are found in the waters 
of the north Pacific, ranging northward from Monterey Bay on 
the American coast and Japan on the Asiatic, the extreme northern 
distribution of certain of the species having not yet been accurately 
determined. The five species are: (1) Oncorhynchus tschawytscha, 
quinnat, tyee, chinook, spring, or king salmon; (2) Oncorhynchus 
nerka, blueback, red, sukkegh, or sockeye salmon; (3) Oncorhynchus 
kisutch, silver, coho, or white salmon; (4) Oncorhynchus keta, dog, 
keta, or chum salmon; and (5) Oncorhynchus gorbuscha, humpback or 
pink salmon. 
CHINOOK, QUINNAT, OR KING SALMON. 
The largest, best known, and most valuable of these is the chinook 
or king salmon (O. tschawytscha). It is found throughout the region 
from the Ventura River, Cal., to Norton Sound, Alaska, and on the 
Asiatic coast as far south as northern China. As knowledge extends, 
it will probably be recorded in the Arctic. 
In the spring the body is silvery, the back, dorsal fin, and caudal 
fin having more or less of round black spots, and the sides of the 
head having a peculiar tin-colored metallic luster. In the fall the 
color is, in some places, black or dirty red.. The fish has an average 
weight of about 22 pounds, but individuals weighing 70 to over 100. 
pounds are occasionally taken. One was caught near Klawak, 
Alaska, in 1909 which weighed 101 pounds without the head. The 
Yukon River is supposed to produce the finest examples, although 
this supposition is not based on very reliable observations. The 
southeast Alaska fish average as high as 23 pounds in certain sea- 
sons, followed by an average of about 22 pounds in the Columbia 
River and about 16 pounds in the Sacramento. 
In most places the flesh is of a deep salmon red, but in certain 
places, notably southeast Alaska, Puget Sound, and British Columbia, 
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